Thailand, Cambodia clash with jets and rockets in deadly border row

AFP | Phanom

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Dong Rak Thailand and Cambodia fought their bloodiest military clashes in more than a decade yesterday, with at least 12 people killed as the two sides battled with tanks, artillery and ground forces over a disputed border zone.

The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running spat between the two neighbours -- both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists -- over an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of both countries and Laos meet.

The decades-old squabble flared into bloody clashes more than 15 years ago and again in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a firefight.

In yesterday’s clashes, Cambodia fired rockets and artillery shells into Thailand and the Thai military scrambled F-16 jets to carry out air strikes.

The Thai public health ministry said one soldier and at least 11 civilians were killed, most of them in a rocket strike near a petrol station in Sisaket province.